Taken Away
by unknownbyhim22
Summary: It was just another day at East High. Gabriella was sad about her date with Troy and Troy was feeling kind of awkward. They were just going to pick up yearbooks from the office and their lives were suddenly turned upside down... turned for the worst. T
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! So here's a new story! I'm always getting new ideas so you can expect constant new stories from me. This one is kind of violent and I felt awkward writing it, but trust me it's not that bad. The first two chapters are the violent ones so once you get past them you'll be okay. Okay, don't worry it's not that violent now that I think of it... I'm not into violence so I didn't want to write a lot of it. Hope you enjoy this story!**

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**Chapter one**

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Gabriella Montez dragged herself down the hallway of East High. The usual happy senior was sad and distraught as she pushed past loud groups of people and talking couples in the hallway. She walked into her homeroom and saw Ms. Darbus dancing around the classroom as usual. Her friends, Kelsi, Sharpay, and Martha were sitting on the tops of their desks, talking in a circle. She looked around the room for Taylor, but she wasn't there and she wondered why as she walked over to her friends. They smiled, but all quickly frowned when they saw Gabriella's face.

"Are you okay?" Kelsi asked her as a wave of seriousness showed on her face.

"I had a rough night." Gabriella said as she shook her head.

"Was it Troy?" Sharpay asked,

Gabriella didn't answer as she shrugged and when the group saw her reaction as Troy walked into the room, they knew that their date must have ended badly. Gabriella walked to her desk and avoided eye contact with Troy as the rest of the class made their way into the classroom. It wasn't that their date ended badly, it just didn't go how Gabriella had planned.

The class was in the middle of their test when Ms. Darbus scanned the room for cheaters. She smiled at Gabriella, who was already done with her test and then she started to fill out a hall pass, her hand moved swiftly on the paper and she ripped the paper off of its pack and looked back at Gabriella.

"Ms. Montez, can you do me a favor?" She asked, interrupting a few students with her loud voice that echoed through the room.

"Sure, Ms. Darbus." Gabriella said with a smile.

Ms. Darbus nodded and looked around the room one more time to see if anyone else was done. She spotted Troy rolling his pencil on his desk, finished with his test already. He had studied with Gabriella constantly before today to be able to ace the hard test.

"Mr. Bolton, go with Ms. Montez to the office. I need you two to pick up the box of yearbooks so we have them ready for tomorrow." She explained. "You can take this hall pass." She said as she handed Troy the paper.

Troy nodded and stood up, waiting in the doorway as Gabriella made her way to the front of the room. Her friends gave her sorry glances as they watched her and she looked straight ahead, avoiding Troy as she walked out of the classroom.

Gabriella looked down at the floor tiles as she walked down the hall, hearing Troy's shoes squeak and fall into rhythm with the tapping of her own shoes. She looked toward the ceiling when she heard an announcement over head.

"Mr. Red, please contact the office. We have a situation." A voice announced with fake calmness filling her voice.

Gabriella stopped in her tracks and Troy looked at her, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Troy…" She started as she stepped toward him.

"What?" He asked as he placed his hand on her arm.

"Were we supposed to have a code red drill today?" She asked.

"No, why?" Troy asked as he furrowed his brow.

"Because that was the code." Gabriella said as her face filled with a look of fear.

"Very funny Gabriella." Troy said with a small smile.

"I'm not kidding!" Gabriella said quickly as she looked up at him.

They stood motionless for a minute, they listened, barely breathing, and Troy grabbed Gabriella before having to think twice about it when he heard a popping noise from around the corner. He picked her up and ran to a janitor's closet, gently closing it behind him and pressing his body against it as he breathed deeply.

"Troy! What are we going to do?" Gabriella whispered.

"Come here." Troy said as he pulled Gabriella toward him. "Sit down." He instructed as they both quietly slid down the door and stayed close to each other.

Gabriella turned her head to look at Troy. She barely made out his figure since it was dark in the closet.

"Maybe we're just hearing things." Troy suggested.

"I don't think we can daydream guns going off, Troy!" Gabriella said quickly.

"Don't panic." Troy whispered.

"How can I not panic? We're going to die!" Gabriella yelled.

"We're not going to die. Stop being so loud, Gabi." Troy said.

"This can't be happening!" Gabi whispered as her voice started to quiver.

Troy didn't say anything as they listened to each other breath. They stayed as quiet as they could when they saw the light coming through under the door suddenly go dark as someone walked by it. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella and she buried her face into his shoulder as she tried to hold back her sobs. They heard someone talking outside and Troy leaned closer to the door to listen.

"How are we going to do this boss?" He heard a younger man ask, his voice was muffled and it was fading as if he was walking away from the door.

"They don't have a game plan?" Troy thought as he listened.

"Find the girl. Get rid of her! No matter what it takes!"

Troy looked down at Gabriella and whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spin.

"They're gone." Troy said inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

Gabriella stayed in the position she was in and Troy could hear her quiet sobs as her body shook uncontrollably. Troy felt a pang of hurt run threw his body as he held onto Gabriella. Gabriella looked up at Troy as she felt his heart beat quicken. She was suddenly thinking of their date last night and how this terrible start of the day would be a fraction of a bit better if she wasn't upset with Troy and the sudden way he was protecting her was making everything worse.

"Troy." She whispered.

"Hmm." Troy said quietly.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked.

"What? Why would I be mad at you?" Troy asked.

"I don't know. I was just wondering."

"Is something wrong? Usually you say what's on your mind."

"Well, the fact that there are men outside that could kill us is kind of preventing any ability to have a conversation." Gabriella whispered.

Troy smiled in the darkness, but it slowly faded as his mind came back to reality.

"I'm thinking about yesterday." Gabriella admitted.

"Yesterday." Troy repeated with a sigh.

"I told you that I loved you." Gabriella recalled.

"You did." Troy nodded.

"And you didn't say it back." Gabriella replied quietly.

"I would have." Troy said.

"But you didn't and now we're in a janitor's closet during a hostage crisis."

"Gabi, it still wouldn't have changed the fact of the situation." Troy said.

"Taylor's not here today."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Troy asked.

"She's probably still with Chad. They went out yesterday."

"And…"

"Taylor was planning on telling Chad she loved him, they probably never made it to school." Gabriella explained.

"And you think if I would have told you that I loved you we wouldn't be here?" Troy asked.

"No, I'm just saying it might be different." Gabriella answered.

Troy didn't say anything as he loosened his grip on Gabriella. Sadly, she felt his resistance and she scooted away from him and turned her body slightly so that she was facing him.

"Do you not love me, Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabi…" Troy sighed. "It's not that I don't love you, it's just hard."

"It's supposed to be hard." Gabriella answered. "You know… if you love someone. You're supposed to face obstacles and if you haven't noticed Troy, we're facing an obstacle right now."

"How can you make jokes right now?" Troy asked with a small laugh.

"It made you laugh right? Got your mind off of the situation for a minute."

"Yeah." Troy whispered.

"Are you going to answer my question? I need to know, Troy, so if I have to, I can move on."

"Do you remember when I was in seventh grade and my Aunt Karen passed away?" Troy asked her.

"Yeah."

"Well, before she got sick I told her I loved her. I mean I actually said the words out loud for the first time." Troy said as he sighed. "Do you remember when Chad went off to camp in fourth grade?"

"Yes."

"Well, we were swinging on our swings and we made a deal that we'd be best friends for the rest of our lives and that we'd be brothers because we loved each other like brothers." Troy began.

"Are you trying to tell me you're in love with Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabriella." Troy said quickly.

"Sorry, I can't help it. I make jokes when I'm nervous."

"Well, when we made that promise he left for camp the next day." Troy explained.

Gabriella nodded slowly and sighed, her heart starting to ache softly for Troy.

"You're afraid that if you say the words to me I'll be taken away from you?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah." Troy whispered.

"You don't have to worry about that, Troy. I'll always come back for you no matter what." Gabriella whispered.

"I can't take that chance, Gabriella."

"I understand." Gabriella said as a tear streamed down her cheek, invisible from Troy.

"You have to know that I'll say it when I'm ready because I know I could say it… if I wasn't afraid of what could happen."

Gabriella scooted back to her spot next to Troy and hugged him, but quickly jumped when she felt something vibrating.

"Is that your phone?" Gabriella asked.

Troy quickly unzipped his sweater pocket and pressed the talk button on his phone. He swallowed hard before he said anything.

"Hello." He said so quietly that Gabriella had to lean closer just to hear him.

"Dude! Are you okay? I'm outside with the police; we're going to find a way to stop this!" Chad said quickly, his voice shaky and concerned.

"We're fine! Don't do anything stupid, Chad."

"Where are you?" Chad asked.

"In a janitor's closet with Gabi. We were in the hallway when the announcement came on."

"How's Gabs?" Chad asked.

"Scared." Troy stated.

"Did you see the guys?"

"No, but I heard them talking about finding some girl."

"How many guys did you hear?" Chad asked.

Troy heard people talking in the background of Chad's line and he knew the police were asking him questions.

"Two."

Gabriella poked Troy in the side and he looked at her quickly.

"Talk to Gabi for a minute." Troy said quickly as he handed her the phone.

Gabriella took it so fast that Troy thought she would drop the phone for sure.

"Chad!" She whispered. "Tell Taylor I love her! Tell her that she needs to look under my mattress if I don't come out of this alive… don't argue with me Chad, just do it! I love you too!"

Gabriella gave Troy the phone back and put her face in her hands to quiet down her sobs.

"Chad! Are you there?" Troy whispered. "Chad!"

Gabriella looked up from her hands and saw the screen of Troy's cell phone suddenly dim and heard Troy curse under his breath as he shoved it back into his pocket.

"Gabriella." Troy whispered.

"What?"

"We have to do something." Troy explained.

"What do you mean? What more can we do?"

"I have to get you out of here. I need to get you to Chad, where you're safe." Troy said as his heart beat quickened and his adrenaline pumped through his body.

"Troy, I'll be safe here. We just have to calm down and try not to panic. It would be stupid if we went into the hallway."

"We can't just sit here, Gabi! It's like we're waiting for a gun man to kill us." Troy explained harshly.

"Don't yell at me." Gabriella said quickly.

"I'm not yelling."

"Shhhhh." Gabriella demanded as she put her hand over his mouth.

She leaned against him and placed her head on his shoulder. Her ear was against the door and as she slowly moved her hand away from Troy she heard men outside.

"They're by Ms. Darbus's classroom." Gabriella said, brushing her lips against his ears, staying as quiet as she could.

Troy slowly started to stand up and he help Gabriella up too as they listened to the commotion in the hallway. They heard the muffled sounds of the men talking and then as they thought the enemies outside were gone they heard the doorknob of the janitor's closet being shaken. Troy pushed Gabriella in the corner of the closet next to the door and she went to grab his hand to pull him closer to herself, but the door opened and he moved to the side of the closet on the opposite side of Gabriella. They both watched in fear as the light from the hallway poured into the closet and Troy glanced at Gabriella, who was watching him intently from behind the door. Troy held his breath as the shelves blocked his sight for a minute and then his worst fear came to life. The man that had walked into the closet saw Gabriella and Troy saw her gasp to herself as she tried to not look at him, afraid that maybe the man would see Troy if she was looking at him.

"Well, well, well, missy. Are you trying to hide from me?" The man asked as he grabbed Gabriella by the arm and pulled her out of her hiding spot.

Gabriella didn't say anything as she tried to control her breathing and Troy looked around quickly to find something to use to hit the man with. He slowly picked up a metal bucket and in one swift movement he slammed the bucket over the man's head, making the man fall to the ground and cry out in pain.

"RUN!" Troy shouted to Gabriella as he kicked the hurting man on the back before he ran out into the hallway.

Gabriella looked over her shoulder to make sure Troy was behind her and as she looked down the hallway her eyes widened in fear. Troy was only a couple of feet behind her, but what she saw beyond him made her legs suddenly tighten and her breathing quicken.

"Troy!" She screeched.

Troy looked behind him quickly and his eyes widened as well.

"Don't look back, Gabi. Keep running." Troy shouted as he got closer to her.

Gabriella screamed when she heard a gun go off and she stopped in the middle of the hallway when she looked back. She stopped at what she saw, at who she saw, at what she didn't want to see and as her breathing almost completely stopped she used her last bit of energy to scream.

"NOOOOO!"

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**AWWWW! Gasp! Review and I'll add the next chapter! **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a short chapter, but I wanted to get it to you because I got such a great response from everyone! Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter two**

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Gabriella ran toward the enemy. She didn't care that if he planned to he would kill her. He was standing at the end of the hallway, now walking toward her as the man in the closet limped painfully out. 

"Don't move." He shouted to her.

Gabriella stopped, but only because she was now next to Troy. If she wasn't she would have continued to walk to be next to him, but she was near him now and that's where she needed to be. She looked at the ground where he was lying, limply, and she saw blood pouring out from his shoulder so red and thick that she thought of throwing up instantly, but she didn't. She just looked at the men coming up to her and she stood her ground, preparing herself for the worse.

"You're brave to be staying here." The man who was hit with the bucket said.

"I'm not leaving him." She gulped as she took a deep breath.

"And who is this?" The other man asked as he circled around Troy and then hit him with his gun, near his shoulder, making Troy groan quietly.

Gabriella flinched as the man hit Troy, but she knew he was alive as the man hit him again.

"No one." Gabriella answered.

"So you wouldn't care if I put him out of his misery right now?" The man asked as he pointed the gun at him.

"Please don't! I'll do anything!" Gabriella pleaded as she looked at the man.

"What's your name?"

"Don't tell him." Gabriella heard Troy whisper.

"Tell me or I'll kill him." He threatened.

"Gabriella… Gabriella Montez." She choked out quickly.

"Gabriella Montez, just the girl we were looking for." The man said, making the limping man smirk with a nod.

Gabriella's eyes widened and she looked down at Troy, who looked scared for her as the man grabbed her by the arm. He pressed his face into her soft hair and whispered into her ear, sending cold chills down her spin.

"You're coming with us. Don't fight back or I'll kill him." He hissed.

He yanked her away from Troy and the man that Troy had hit earlier walked backwards, pointing the gun at Troy. They were at the end of the hallway when Gabriella heard Troy call after her.

"Gabriella!" He screamed.

The man that was taking Gabriella turned around to look at Troy and Gabriella saw Troy sitting up, holding his shoulder. She felt the man tighten his grip on her arm and as she looked into his eyes she saw him nod to the other man. Gabriella tried to loosen his grip as she squirmed around frantically and she kicked and screamed as the other man pointed his gun at Troy and pulled the trigger. She punched the man over and over again as she saw Troy fall back to the ground and as they struggled to keep her from moving she felt something hit her in the head and as she screamed Troy's name one last time she was knocked out cold.

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**What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me what you think!! Review if you want to!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	3. Chapter 3

**HEY! Okay so here's another chapter!I have chapter four written, but I don't really know what to do next or what the outcome of this stroy should be... I have some ideas, but if you have any of your own tell me and I'll consider them! Thanks and Enjoy!**

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**Chapter three**

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Troy opened his eyes after being unconscious for a couple of minutes and the bright lights of the hallway made him squint as pain over took his body. He heard movement behind him and as he tried to look up he stop as the pain became unbearable. He groaned and shut his eyes again, dropping in and out of consciousness and as he opened his eyes again he saw a police officer hovering over him.

"You're going to be okay. We're going to get you out of here." He said quickly.

Troy saw him make a gesture to the doors of the hallway and then he heard more police officers coming in. He cried out in pain as the police officers placed him on a stretcher and his eyes were drawn to the janitor's closet. He peered inside and saw the metal bucket he used to hit the man taking Gabriella, on the ground and then as the police started to make their way with him outside he saw the puddle of his blood on the hallway floor. Police officer's were running around the hallway, calling out commands and procedures as they continued to keep the students and staff of East High under control and all Troy could do was watch as he was slowly taken away. He heard gasping and panicking as he was taken outside and as the police officers rushed him toward the ambulance, Chad ran to his side.

"Troy!" He cried as a look of panic took over his face.

"Stay with me, Chad. I need help…" Troy mumbled, scaring Chad as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Chad rode in the ambulance with Troy and stayed at the hospital, waiting for him to get out of emergency surgery. Troy's dad was still at school talking to the police and his mom was stuck in traffic, coming home from work, leaving Chad alone as he walked into Troy's hospital room. Troy was sleeping and his chest and shoulder was bandaged up, leaving only his bare, right shoulder visible. Chad sat down in the chair that was next to Troy's bed and he watched his best friend since preschool lay helplessly on the hospital bed. He shook his head as he thought of what it would have been like if he was at school that day, thinking that maybe he could have prevented this from happening. He looked away from the beeping heart monitors when he heard Troy start to wake up.

"Hey." Chad whispered when Troy saw him.

"Chad." Troy said tiredly.

"How are you feeling, man?" Chad asked.

"I hurt so bad." Troy said as he squeezed his eyes shut to try to stop the pain.

"Hang in there, buddy."

"Where's Gabriella?" Troy asked quietly as he looked at Chad.

Chad hesitated for a minute, but knew that Troy needed to hear the truth. He took a deep breath and answered him.

"They're looking for her." Chad answered.

"She's not at school?" Troy asked as he furrowed his brow.

"No." Chad answered.

"She was right in front of me, Chad. She almost made it to the doors, but she had to come back for me." Troy said quickly.

"I know, man." Chad whispered as he patted Troy's arm.

"She was going to be fine. She was almost there." Troy repeated. "She was almost there." He whispered as tears started to form in his eyes. "I need her, Chad. I need her right now."

"Troy." Chad said slowly as he hugged him, securely. "You'll be okay, she'll come back."

Troy cried as he hugged his best friend. His shoulder was throbbing and torturing him, but his heart hurt more. His heart felt like it was being torn out of his body slowly and painfully. He needed to see that Gabriella was okay; he needed to make sure that she wasn't scared or hurt. He needed to make the men that took her away from him pay. She was taken away from him without being told goodbye, or even worse, told that he loved her. She was taken away thinking he didn't love her and that was tearing him up inside more than almost anything.

Chad released Troy from his grip and looked at him as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Did everyone make it out okay?" Troy asked Chad.

"I think so. The police can't let anyone out until they talk to everyone." Chad answered.

"I can't believe this happened." Troy said quietly.

"I wish I could have been with you, man. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Chad said as his voice filled with sadness.

"You were with Taylor right?" Troy asked him.

"Yeah." Chad said.

"I'm glad you weren't with me. I would have had to worry about you too."

"Taylor was really worried about you." Chad replied with a sigh.

"Did she tell you she loved you?" Troy asked him.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Chad asked.

"Gabi told me she was going to. Gabriella told me she loved me last night too."

"Did they plan that or something?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, you told Taylor you loved her back right?" Troy asked.

"Of course I did, why?" Chad asked.

"I didn't say it back to Gabriella and know I wish I did." Troy explained.

"Why didn't you?" Chad asked.

"I was afraid that I would lose her, but I did anyway." Troy said as he shook his head.

"You didn't lose her, Troy. She's coming back. She's not being taken away from us that easily." Chad said strongly.

"I'll never be able to live with myself if she doesn't come back." Troy answered.

"Gabi is strong. She loves you too much to give up without a fight."

"She was so scared, Chad. They grabbed her and she watched them shot me a second time. She was screaming so loud and then she just stopped. I don't know what they did to her, but she probably thought they killed me. If I was in her situation I wouldn't fight to stay alive knowing that the person I loved was just killed."

"I can't even imagine this." Chad replied as he shook his head in disgust.

Troy shook his head as well and he looked out the window as Chad's phone started to ring. Chad answered it and Troy knew it was Taylor as he listened to Chad talk calmly.

"I'll come and get you, Tay. Don't worry, you'll be fine." Chad said. "Bye." Chad said as he closed his phone shut. "I'm going to go get Taylor. She wants to see you and the people at the front desk don't believe that she's your sister."

"Sister?" Troy asked.

"Hey, I'm your brother if anyone asks." Chad said with a smile as he stood up.

Troy watched as his best friend, support system, and brother walked out of the hospital room and as he closed his eyes he drifted into a sleep and as he slept he had nightmares of the event that took place hours before, making him toss and turn and with one more gunshot echoing through his head he woke up quickly and breathed deeply as he saw the people sitting around his room. He saw Chad sitting in the chair that he was recently occupying and Taylor was sitting on Chad's lap and as Troy felt a soft hand on his own he knew it was Taylor's. He saw Zeke, Jason, and Sharpay sitting in chairs by the foot of his bed and Kelsi, his dad, and his mom where standing up, leaning against the wall, each of them watching Troy as he looked around the room.

"Hey, wildcat." Sharpay said with a small smile.

"Hi, guys." Troy said with a weak, forced smile.

"How are you feeling?" Troy's mom asked as she walked over to him with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm fine, mom. Don't worry." Troy said.

"We'll give you a minute with him." Taylor said as she stood up and motioned to her friends to leave the room.

Mr. Bolton sat on the opposite side of Troy's bed that Mrs. Bolton was sitting at and he seemed to be getting emotional as he looked down at his hurting son.

"I can't believe this happened to you, son." He said in disbelief.

"I'm fine, dad. I'll make it." Troy reassured him with a nod.

"How did this happen?" Mrs. Bolton asked. "Why were you in the hallway?"

"Gabi and I…" Troy breathed deeply as he said Gabriella's name, but he continued. "…were in the hallway and then the announcement came on. We ran into the janitor's closet and we were fine until the men that were threatening East High came into the closet. Gabi was behind the door and I was to the side and then the guy spotted Gabi. He grabbed Gabi and then I hit him over the head with a bucket. We were running down the hallway toward the front doors when I was shot. Gabi could have made it out, but she saw that I was hurt and she stayed with me." Troy explained.

"She stayed with you while two men with guns came toward her?" Mr. Bolton asked as his eyes widened.

"I would have done the same thing, dad." Troy answered with a sigh.

"Well… what happened to Gabriella?" Mrs. Bolton asked, getting a you-shouldn't-have-brought-her-up look from Mr. Bolton.

"They grabbed her and I couldn't move and then they shot me again so I couldn't run after her." Troy said quietly.

"Don't worry, honey. They'll find her." Mrs. Bolton said with a worried smile.

"I hope." Troy replied.

Troy sighed and looked at the doorway when he heard someone. His heart started pounding and his stomach dropped when he saw Ms. Montez standing there, her eyes watery as she looked at Troy. As Troy's parents left him alone he struggled to sit up and watched as she walked over to him. He looked up at Ms. Montez who looked so much like Gabriella and he wondered as she sat down next to him what he would say to the mother of the girl that he loved so much.

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**Like it? Review if you want to! Tell me your ideas and predictions!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay everyone I felt bad making everyone wait after getting all of the reviews like "OMG I need to know what is going to happen!" etc. so here I am updating this, but if you want more you NEED to give me some ideas people. I love you all, but seriously I'm losing my mind here, which doesn't happen often considering I'm only 14. Okay? Kay. LOL So here's the next chapter. Enjoy. : )**

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**Chapter four**

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Ms. Montez was quiet for a minute as she looked at Troy and Troy was too scared to say something first. Ms. Montez smiled at him as she wiped her tears away.

"You're so brave, Troy." She said with a small laugh.

"No, Ms. Montez, I'm really not." Troy admitted.

"You took two bullets to the shoulder for my daughter and I'm so thankful for that."

Troy felt the pinching feeling of threatening tears against his eyes and he shook his head, looking down at his hands.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Montez." Troy said quietly.

"Now, Troy, there's no need to be sorry." Ms. Montez answered.

"I couldn't save her."

"If it was up to me I would say that you saved her a long time ago." Ms. Montez answered.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked as he furrowed his brow.

"When Gabi's dad died she was having a hard time moving on. She was starting to give up on love since she was afraid of loving someone and having them suddenly disappearing out of her life like her dad, but then she meet you, Troy, and she forgot about her worries. She loved you so much and that saved her from more than you know." Ms. Montez explained.

"I love her too, Ms. Montez. So much." Troy said with a nod.

"I know, Troy." She said as she patted his hand lightly. "We can't give up on her now. She's going to make it back, okay?"

Troy nodded slowly and then he started to think about how the men took Gabriella away so surely when she told them her name.

"Ms. Montez, I don't know if you can answer this, but when Gabriella told the men her name they told her that she was just the girl they were looking for. Were people after Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Oh, Troy." Ms. Montez sighed. She hesitated for a minute, but then spoke. "My husband got involved with the wrong men a year before he died. They threatened my family constantly until we moved." Ms. Montez said as she started to stand up slowly.

"Do you think those men are the ones who took Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Maybe. I'm going to go talk to the police for a while. I'll tell you if we find anything out. Stay strong, Troy." She said quickly as she started to walk out of his room.

"Bye, Ms. Montez." Troy called after her.

Troy looked around the room and hated the way it was so quiet and boring. He wished he could see Gabriella, the girl who could make any boring moment or room exciting, but he knew he couldn't and as his friends came back into the room he tried to push away the thoughts running through his mind. Chad, Jason, and Zeke sat around Troy and looked at each other awkwardly, not sure what they should say.

"Where are the girls?" Troy asked.

"They went to go get something to eat. They're bringing us some food back." Zeke answered.

"Oh." Troy nodded.

The girls drove quietly down the street in Taylor's car. They were too sad to talk about anything and the empty seat in the back where Gabriella would be sitting mocked them as they tried not to look at it. They parked and got out of the car and walked into Sally's Diner, a restaurant where they always got the best food for four hungry basketball players. They sat down in a booth and ordered their food and ordered food to go for the guys. They sat quietly, stirring their iced teas around with their straws, feeling guilty about going out to dinner when one of their best friends was missing. Taylor was the first one to speak and the girls looked up from their drinks to look at her.

"Were you guys scared?" Taylor asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Terrified." Kelsi said.

"I was hysterical." Sharpay admitted.

"It was weird though…" Martha started. "When we hear of these things happening people are killed and gone after, but the gun men didn't even try to get into Ms. Darbus's room, we just heard what was going on in the hallway."

"I think that was worse than anything." Kelsi said.

"What did you hear?" Taylor asked.

The girls exchanged a look and Taylor knew it was bugging them to think about what they witnesses. Chills went down the girls spins and then they answered her.

"We heard Troy and Gabriella in the hallway." Sharpay answered as she swallowed hard.

"They were screaming each other's names." Martha added.

"And then we heard the gun shots." Kelsi answered. "Gabriella…" She couldn't continue as she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears.

Martha rubbed Kelsi's back supportively and Sharpay finished for her.

"We heard the gun shot and Gabriella screamed Troy's name. We knew he was shot. Jason had to hold Zeke back so he wouldn't run out into the hallway. He would have and that made everyone even more afraid. We were sobbing because we couldn't do anything; we couldn't do anything but listen to our friends in pain." Sharpay said as she shook her head.

"Okay, I can't hear anymore of this." Taylor said as she shook her head.

"Were you with Chad?" Kelsi asked.

"Yeah." Taylor said with a nod.

"Did Gabriella talk to you about her date with Troy? She seemed kind of sad." Sharpay asked.

"No, I didn't get to talk to her. Did she tell you what was wrong?"

"No." Martha answered.

"Well, she was planning on telling Troy she loved him. That's what I was doing… telling Chad how I felt." Taylor explained.

"You don't think…" Kelsi started.

"No, that's impossible." Sharpay replied.

"Troy loved Gabi, there's no doubt about it." Martha added.

"But what if he didn't say it back?" Kelsi wondered.

"Why would he do that?" Taylor asked.

"Well, why else would Gabriella be sad?" Kelsi replied.

"I'll talk to Chad." Taylor said.

"If that's the case… it adds so much more sadness to this situation." Sharpay said.

"Let's just hope it's not." Martha said with a nod.

The girls finished their meal and made their way back to the hospital. When they walked into the hospital they saw Mr. and Mrs. Bolton talking to a doctor and as they stepped into Troy's room the boys were watching a basketball game on the TV that was hanging from the ceiling.

"We got some food." Taylor said in a sing-song voice.

"Thanks, Tay." Chad said with a smile.

"Thank you." Jason and Zeke said together.

"You're welcome." Taylor said as she handed the brown bag to Chad, who started to get the food out for everyone.

The girls sat in chairs that were lined up by the wall, underneath the TV as the guys ate and watched the game. After two hours of talking, eating and game watching Mr. and Mrs. Bolton came into the room, laughing quietly at the group of teenagers.

"It's getting late, guys. I think Troy needs some rest." Mr. Bolton said with a smile.

The group stood up from their seats and said goodbye to Troy, each of them giving him a hug or pat on the arm. Chad was the last to say goodbye to Troy and as the rest of the group walked into the hallway he smiled at his best friend.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay with you? I will if you want me to." Chad asked.

"No, I'm okay, Chad. Stay with Taylor, she needs you right now." Troy said with a nod.

"Alright, man. I'll see you tomorrow." Chad said as he gave Troy a manly hug and walked toward the door.

Troy sighed and shut the TV off. He tried to get comfortable so that he could get some sleep, but he didn't know that it would be impossible because Gabriella's image was always there when he shut his eyes. He opened his eyes and looked around the dark room and out into the hallway where he saw nurses passing and patients in wheelchairs being taken to their rooms. He wanted to get out of the hospital as fast as he could and that was exactly what he planned to do.

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**Like it? Review if you want to! I'm in the middle of writing chapter five, but after that it may be a while for the next chapter. Predict what might happen next and then I can steal your predictions.** **LOL ; ) Just kidding, but seriously. Okay, I'm going to do yoga or something to get some ideas. (I don't really do yoga... but I should because I'm stressing out.)**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, everyone! So here's the next chapter for Taken Away. Sorry that it took a while to get a new chapter! I'm not going to make excusses because I don't have any, but enjoy and review!**

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**CHAPTER FIVE**

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Troy was healing fast and even though it had only been a couple of days since the incident at school he was happy to be leaving the hospital. What he wasn't happy about though was the fact that Gabriella was still missing. The police had a few leads, thanks to Ms. Montez, but as more days passed the worry and doubt started to grow.

Troy was in his kitchen with Chad, Jason, and Zeke after he got home from the hospital and they were standing around the island having a snack.

"So I was talking to Principal Matsui and he said that graduation is being postponed until the end of June. He wants everything to calm down." Zeke said.

"I haven't even been thinking about graduation." Jason replied.

"We would be graduating tomorrow." Chad said.

"Yeah, and getting ready to go off to college." Troy added.

"University of Albuquerque." Zeke said with a nod.

"One of the best basketball teams around." Jason added.

"And culinary program." Zeke said.

"Math and science program." Troy said as he shook his head as he thought of Gabriella.

The guys were quiet for a minute as they looked at Troy. They watched as he shifted in his spot and now the only sound that they heard was from the dishwasher.

"Hey, man, it's okay." Jason said.

"She's been gone for almost a week." Troy said sadly.

"She'll be fine. We'll get through this." Zeke replied.

"I don't know guys." Troy said.

"Did I just hear Troy Bolton give up?" Chad asked. "Troy Bolton does not give up and we are not about to let him. Did he give up when Jason wanted to buy his mom that diamond bracelet for Mother's day when he only had twenty bucks left after buying that X-box?" Chad asked. "No. He made us stand outside and sell lemonade while hot girls walked by and laughed at us, but you know what? Jason bought that bracelet because Troy Bolton did not give up." Chad stated strongly.

"Did Troy Bolton give up when Ms. Darbus's nephew's birthday party was going to be cancelled because the clowns got food poisoning? No. He made us dress up as clowns and learn how to make balloon animals in less than twenty minutes." Jason said. "And he still didn't give up when we had to figure out how to get the clown makeup off. He called Sharpay and the girls over to get it off of us and even though we are still made fun of today he never gave up."

"And Troy Bolton never has and never will give up on Gabriella or any of us, no matter how much he may want to because Troy Bolton does not give up, right?" Chad asked.

Troy smiled as he remembered all of their fun moments together and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right." Troy said with a small smile.

Troy laughed as Zeke, Jason, and Chad did and then he started to remember when he wouldn't let Gabriella give up earlier that year.

_Gabriella was lying on her bed, tears threatening to fall as she squeezed her eyes shut when she heard her bedroom door open. She turned her head to see who it was and saw Troy standing in her doorway with a smile clear on his face. He walked over to her and sat down, looking down at her sympathetically. _

_"Hey, G."__ He said with a smile. "What's wrong?" He asked her as he moved a piece of her hair away from her face._

_"My mom made my project into a fruit salad." Gabriella said quietly._

_"What project?" Troy asked._

_"My solar system project.__ The one I have been working on." Gabriella explained._

_"I'm sure you can redo it."_

_"It's due tomorrow, Troy. It's done with. I'll just fail." _

_"No, you won't." Troy said sternly. "We can fix this together."_

_"Troy, it's too late to go shopping for fruit." Gabriella answered._

_"We can make it with something else." Troy said._

_"Like what?"_

_"Ho__w about out of sports equipment?__ We can use a golf ball for the Earth and a basketball for Jupiter or something." Troy suggested._

_"I don't have sports equipment."_

_"You're talking to Troy Bolton." Troy said with a smile. "Come on, let's go." Troy said as he took Gabriella's hand and pulled her up._

_Gabriella and Troy walked hand and hand down the street towards Troy's house. It was dark outside and the stars were starting to poke through the dark sky. _

_"Thanks for helping me, Troy." Gabriella said with a smile._

_"Don't worry about it, but now you owe me." Troy said with a laugh._

_"Oh really?__ What do I owe you?" Gabriella asked._

_"How about Lakers tickets."__ Troy said._

_"Those are impossible to get." Gabriella answered._

_"I'm just kidding, Gabi. You don't owe me anything." Troy said._

_Troy and Gabriella got the sports equipment from Troy's garage and brought it back to Gabriella's house where they sat in the family room and started putting the project back together. Gabriella smiled as she watched the project come together and she knew__ that Troy really did care and in that moment she knew that she loved him more than she ever thought was possible. _

Troy shook the memory away as the guys continued to talk and before he knew it they were in his backyard shooting hoops, just like old times, only today he was watching and taking it easy. He laughed as Zeke did his victory dance when he beat Chad and Jason in their quick game and they soon called it a night when they knew Troy wasn't having much fun only watching them.

Troy walked into his house and made his way toward his room. His mom saw him from her room and walked out into the hallway. He stopped when he saw her and smiled tiredly with a long sigh. Mrs. Bolton smiled back at him and gave him a long, motherly hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Troy." She said.

"Don't worry about me, mom. I'll be okay." Troy reassured her as she seemed to be thinking about the recent events that had taken place that week.

"Alright. Goodnight." She said as she gave him a kiss on the check and went back into her room, where Troy heard her talk quietly to his dad.

Troy went into his room and slowly looked around the familiar, yet distant place. He felt like he hadn't been in his own room for weeks when really it had only been a few days. He looked out his balcony doors and memories of Gabriella came flooding back into his mind. He started to think about when Gabriella had come to his house only a couple of days before the incident at school. He remembered everything so perfectly that he could almost feel the rain that was falling that night.

_Troy had just finished a long English paper and it was now sitting on his dresser neatly stapled and placed on the right corner of the wooden piece of furniture. Troy sighed when he saw that it was now night and knew that if he didn't go to sleep soon he would never be able to wake up the next morning. He changed into a navy blue, cotton T-shirt and some basketball shorts and sat at the edge of his bed. He opened his cell phone and checked if he had gotten any new text messages or calls from Gabriella, but he didn't and he started to become uneasy. He was about to call her when he heard a soft knock on his balcony door. He jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden noise and looked toward the window. He couldn't make out the person right away because the rain was hitting the window so hard that it blurred any vision of the outside world, but then he knew it was Gabriella and quickly went over to the door. _

_"What are you doing?" Troy asked her when he opened the door._

_"Standing on your balcony."__ Gabriella stated._

_"Really?"__ Troy asked with a smile as he took her hand and pulled her inside so that she wouldn't get wet anymore. "I mean what are you doing here?" He asked._

_"I couldn't sleep." Gabriella answered._

_Troy smiled and nodded._

_"Why's that?" Troy asked._

_Gabriella paused for a second._

_"I'm scared." Gabriella whispered. _

_Troy furrowed his brow and looked Gabriella in the eyes. She was scared; the way her eyes looked gave it away without a second thought._

_"Why are you scared?" He asked her. _

_Gabriella just looked at him and before Troy could ask again he was being hugged tightly._

Troy moved away from his balcony window as the scared look Gabriella had on her face was displayed in his mind like a black and white picture. He couldn't help but remember the look that she had that night was the same look that showed on her face the day at school, only at school it was worse.

Troy lay down in his bed after getting his pajama's on and the darkness around him made his heart race because it suddenly felt like the janitor's closet at school. He looked around the room at the large and small shadows falling upon the walls and wood floors of his room. Sleep wasn't going to happen for Troy anytime soon and he knew that as he saw Gabriella's image and heard her 'I love you' from a few nights before. Regret, sadness, and disappointment filled Troy's heart as he listened to the soft rain that was just starting to fall. The girl that he loved, the girl that was special to him, the girl that made him whole, _loved_ the rain.

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**Tear, Tear. Review if you want to! Any suggestions? Thanks for reading...**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I wasn't gone as long as I expected to be so I was able to write this after getting over my writers block. I'm working on chapter seven and I like it so far, so review and I'll get it to you soon! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter six**

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Troy looked at himself in the bathroom mirror for a minute and then walked out into the hallway to make his way downstairs. He picked up his pace when he heard the doorbell ring and as he made his way to the door he saw Taylor through the screen door. He smiled and opened it, stepping out into the summer weather.

"Hey, Taylor." He said with a smile.

"I have something for you." She said as she pulled an envelope out of her back jean pocket.

"What is it?" Troy asked as he took it from her.

"I don't know. It's from Gabriella… it was under her mattress." She said as she shook her head and looked at the ground to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling.

"Taylor…" Troy started as he rubbed her arm supportively.

"I'm fine, Troy, honestly. I'm going to go, though." She said with a small smile.

"I'll see you later, okay?" He asked.

"Okay. Bye, Troy." She said as she made her way down the porch steps.

"Bye." Troy said as he opened the front door and stepped into his house.

His heart was pounding as he sat at the kitchen table and looked down at the envelope that had Gabriella's curvy handwriting on it. _To Troy on Graduation Day_ it read. He carefully opened the envelope and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the two Lakers tickets sitting inside it and as he pulled them out, a note fell out of the envelope. He unfolded it and started to read the letter that Gabriella had written.

_So I'm sitting here in my room looking at the picture of us at your Christmas party and I decided to write you a letter just in case graduation changes our life and we can no longer be together like we planned. Hopefully when you read this you already know that I love you because I'm planning on telling you on our date, but if you don't and you are realizing that I didn't have enough courage to say it out loud, I love you, Troy Bolton. I just wanted you to know that because you deserve to know and hopefully you feel the same way because my next letter would probably be stained with tears. And hopefully you like your graduation gift. Surprise! See, when I owe someone I keep my word and I'm glad that you're the one I owe. But that's not all I owe you. Yes, you didn't save me from a burning building so I don't owe you my life or anything, but if that's what it comes down to I'd be okay with that. I'd give my life for yours and I'd give my heart to you so that only you could hold on to it. Before you, Troy, I couldn't say any of that and truly mean it. I couldn't open up to anyone since my dad and then you came along. You're nice smile and friendship mean__s__ so much to me. Well, now I'm just rambling and I'll probably start getting too emotional so I'm going to end this letter. Remember, Troy, I love you and no matter what I always will._

_Yours truly, _

_Gabriella. _

Troy was crying now, hysterical wasn't the case, but his tears were falling and landing on the page, smearing the words slightly. He wanted to keep reading so that maybe by the time he finished reading it Gabriella would appear back in his life, but as he looked around his deserted kitchen Gabriella hadn't appeared and now all that he had left of her was a letter.

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It was the day of graduation and Chad, Jason, and Zeke were in Troy's kitchen waiting for him to come downstairs as they talked amongst themselves quietly. They were all wearing summer suits and though they should have been happy to be graduating they knew that their best friend was in pain. They didn't even have to see Troy to know that and the Lakers tickets in the middle of the island definitely gave the emotions away. Chad shifted in his spot where he was leaning against the counter and Jason sighed heavily as Zeke shook his head.

They all thought that Gabriella would be back by now. They at least knew that she should be anyway. The police knew who the kidnappers were after investigating more and having Troy identify them at the police station, but Gabriella never showed up. Anthony and Mark were the names of the men that kidnapped Gabriella. They were arrested after trying to rob a bank and they were found out to be East High's gun men. Even after long court sessions and threats, they didn't spill about where Gabriella was and as they sat in jail and watched as Troy was literally brought to a breaking point they still kept it a secret.

As the friends stood in the kitchen they couldn't help, but think about Troy and the way he looked that day when they brought Anthony and Mark to jail. He was mad, scared, and heartbroken all at the same time and they were the ones who had to watch him be torn apart.

They all shook the thoughts out of their heads as Troy appeared in the kitchen and they smiled at him, only getting a shrug back from him.

"Ready?" Troy asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, man. Are you?" Chad asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Troy answered.

The guys nodded and headed outside to their cars. They drove to East High and Troy's friends stood by his side as he saw East High for the first time since the incident. Troy didn't have any emotion on his face at first, but they all saw him start to get mad as he made his way toward his seat. The ceremony went on as planned and Taylor stepped up to make her speech, one that would have been made with Gabriella. She started slowly and sad, but after getting an encouraging smile from Chad she began to get more courage and strength to go on.

"We've been through a lot, class of 2008 and the memories and moments we share together will never be forgotten even if bad grades or crazy hairstyles are." She paused as most people laughed and then continued. "We've gotten through some tough times and hopefully as the years pass we'll stop to think about the fun times and great moments that we had together and hopefully get through more obstacles. So let's make the future brighter, East High, because without us being in this together we all might not be sitting here now. Thank you."

Everyone clapped loudly as Taylor sat back down next to Chad and the ceremony continued. The group of best friends graduated within the hour and spent the rest of the night at graduation parties and get togethers.

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**Kind of short, I know. Only a few more chapters left! Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry that it took me so long to update! I was waiting for the weekend to come around because most people read and have time on the weekend. This is the chapter, I think everyone has been waiting for! Enjoy!**

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Troy was lying in his bed, starring at the ceiling, sighing constantly. He was thinking about Gabriella again, just like he had been for every spare second since about three weeks ago. Now, he thought, it was starting to get ridiculous. He was thinking about it so much as he laid there that he could hear that tapping noise on his balcony window that he heard only nights before the incident. He tried to ignore it, but after another tapping sound he started to think that it wasn't in his imagination. He sat up and quickly jumped off of his bed when he saw someone standing on his balcony. He ran toward it and opened it, letting the rain pour against him.

"Troy…" Her voice quivered.

"Oh my god, Gabriella." Troy said as he quickly pulled her into a hug and held onto her so tight that he thought for sure he would crush her if he didn't let go of her soon, but he didn't and she held onto him too and cried into his shoulder taking in the scent that she missed so much.

"I thought they killed you." She said as she started to cry uncontrollably.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He asked her as he looked at her and ran his finger over her forehead where a small bruise was formed.

"I'm fine; they didn't do anything to me. I'm just glad you're okay." She said quickly as she hugged him again. "They shot you again and I thought for sure you were dead."

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you." Troy said quickly as tears came to his eyes.

"Don't say that, Troy." Gabriella said as she looked into his eyes and then to the scar that was on his shoulder.

"Where were you?" He asked her as he lifted her chin up so that she would stop looking at his scar.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Gabriella said as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Are you sure they didn't hurt you?" He asked.

"I'm sure." Gabriella said with a nod. "I can't believe this happened."

"I know." Troy said as he brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I love you so much, Gabriella." He said honestly.

"I love you too." Gabriella said as she started to cry even more. "I love you too." She said again as she hugged him tighter.

Gabriella looked over Troy's shoulder when she heard his bedroom door open and Troy turned to see who it was. Mrs. Bolton's eyes widened when she saw Gabriella and she immediately rushed over to Gabriella and gave her a hug.

"Oh, honey." She said as she hugged her tightly. "Get inside." She said quickly. "You're soaking wet." She said. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Bolton. I'm fine, honestly." Gabriella said with a small smile.

"Does your mom know you're here?"

"Yeah, everyone does. I didn't know that Troy was… well you know."

Mrs. Bolton smiled sympathetically and rubbed Gabriella's arm gently.

"Well, I'm going to call your mom and talk to her. Troy, get her some dry clothes." Mrs. Bolton said as she directed her attention to her son. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too." Gabriella said with a small smile.

Mrs. Bolton walked out of Troy's room and Troy walked over to his dresser from his spot by the balcony doors and fished through his top drawer. He tossed Gabriella some basketball shorts and walked toward his closet.

"You can change into those while I look for a sweater or something." He said as he walked into his closet.

Gabriella changed into his shorts and put her jeans over Troy's chair that was placed to the side of his room. Troy came back out of his closet and handed her a basketball sweater and politely looked away while she changed. He turned around after a minute and was a little too early and saw a huge bruise on Gabriella's back before she could pull the sweater down over it.

"Gabriella!" He scowled as he walked over to her.

"What?" She asked as she turned around.

"You have a huge bruise on your back." He pointed out.

"It's not bad." She said quietly as she pulled at the grey sweater.

"Let me see it." Troy said quickly.

"I'm fine." Gabriella said annoyed.

"Don't argue with me, G." Troy said.

Gabriella sighed and lifted her sweater up a little past her belly button and turned around so Troy could see her back. She heard his breath catch in his throat and she quickly put the sweater back down and turned around to face him.

"I'm fine." Gabriella said quietly.

"I'm getting you some ice." Troy said as he started to walk toward his bedroom door.

Gabriella sighed and didn't bother arguing. She sat on the side of his bed and looked at the back of his door, waiting for him to come back because she was afraid that when he left the room she might have to wait for a long time before he came back again, but she was happy when he was back within minutes, not hours or days. Troy walked over to her and she put her hand out to take the ice pack but he shook his head.

"I'll do it." He said simply.

"Troy…"

"Gabriella, how are you going to be able to do it? Just lie down and relax." He instructed.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but once again didn't argue because that's how she got the bruise in the first time. She lay down and Troy sat down next to her and placed the ice pack carefully on her back. Gabriella tensed up and flinched when the cold ice pack was set on her throbbing bruise and she squeezed her eyes shut to help ignore the pain.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked as he lifted the ice pack away from her.

Gabriella nodded and felt the ice pack placed on her back again. She started to relax when she felt Troy rubbing her side and sighed heavily.

"I haven't slept in forever." She said quietly.

"Go to sleep then." Troy replied quietly.

Gabriella nodded and watched as Troy shut the lamp off that was on his nightstand. He lay down next to her and kept his hand on the ice pack to keep it in its place. He smiled at her when he saw her looking at him and started to play with her hair.

"You're okay. Nothing will happen to you." He reassured her.

She smiled and closed her eyes as she slowly drifted into a light sleep. Troy watched her, intently, memorizing everything about her and he scouted closer to her, feeling too far away from her and slowly fell asleep.

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Troy was suddenly wakened up a couple of hours later when he heard Gabriella gasp.

"Owe!" He heard her say.

He sat up quickly and saw her sitting up with a hand on her back as she breathed heavily.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly.

"I had a bad dream." Gabriella explained.

"What was it about?" Troy asked as his eyes started to adjust to the darkness.

Gabriella didn't say anything and Troy saw her bring her hand to her forehead and shake her head. He saw her shoulders start to move up and down and he put his arm around her slowly.

"Hey, it's okay." He said as he rubbed her arm softly.

Gabriella leaned into him and cried as she thought of her nightmare. Troy held onto Gabriella tightly, but gently, as she continued to cry and he tried to calm her down as he rocked her back and forth, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Gabi, what was the nightmare about?" He asked quietly.

"They were in the hallway and…" She shook her head and wouldn't finish as she held onto Troy.

"You have to tell me or you'll never get past it."

"They killed you in front of me. I couldn't stop them this time… I couldn't get to you fast enough." She said as she started to cry harder.

"Gabriella, calm down. Everything is going to be okay. They're gone now. I'm here, I'll always be here."

"It's not going to be okay, Troy. Not after what happened. You don't know that you'll always be here. I thought that too and I was taken away from you." She said as she shook her head angrily.

"Gabi, look at me." Troy said as he wiped away her tears with his thumb and turned her head toward him. "I love you, okay? You're not going to be taken away from me again and everything _will_ be fine."

"You don't know that. Nobody knows that." Gabriella whispered as she looked into his eyes.

Troy blinked quickly to avoid the seriousness he saw in Gabriella's eyes and she wiped away her tears and lay back down. Troy looked down at her from his sitting position and watched as she closed her eyes and let more tears squeeze past her eyelids. He sat there for a minute and wondered if Gabriella's opinions on love and about the future had changed because of her kidnapping. Maybe now instead of him being afraid of getting close to someone and having them taken away she was now the one. That scared him as he lay down next to her and wrapped his arm around her small waist because maybe now she was taken away from him while being right next to him.

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**She's back! Review, and again, sorry for the wait!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, everyone! I've been getting a lot done! Yeah, me! So everyone wants to know what happened to Gabriella right? Well, read on to figure it out and review, please, if you enjoy it! **

CHAPTER EIGHT

Troy rolled onto his stomach when the sun light fell upon him in the morning and groaned tiredly before he opened his eyes. He reached behind him expecting Gabriella to be there but she wasn't and he quickly sat up and looked around his room.

"Gabriella." He called as he ran his hand through his hair.

He heard the door open and Gabriella walked in with her own clothes on and his sweater and pants neatly folded in her hand. She smiled at him and set his clothes on his dresser before she came toward him.

"Good morning." She said as she sat on the side of his bed.

"Morning." Troy said with a smile as he kissed her on her forehead.

"I talked to your mom and she's not going to be home for the rest of the day and your dad is at Chad's house hanging out with his dad." Gabriella explained.

"So we have the house to ourselves." Troy said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Yup… let's get something to eat." Gabriella said quickly as she stood up and walked toward his bedroom door.

"Okay." Troy said as he furrowed his brow and followed Gabriella out of his room.

Troy and Gabriella were leaning against the kitchen island eating cereal. They were going to make something like eggs or French toast but they didn't want to make a big mess. Gabriella watched as her berries from the bowl of Crunch and Berries bobbed up and down. She leaned on her elbows and kept her eyes on her cereal. Troy watched her as he put another scoop of cereal in his mouth and couldn't help but notice that she was being quiet and standoffish.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked her.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking." She answered.

"Care to tell me of what?" He asked.

"Just everything." Gabriella answered. "Of everyone."

Troy nodded slowly and set his bowl down on the counter.

"Did you see everyone yesterday?" Troy asked.

"Yeah… it felt so good to see everyone again."

"How was Taylor?" Troy asked.

"She cried for like an hour straight and then she didn't want me to leave. Chad cried too when he saw me and Zeke picked me up and spun me around for so long I thought for sure I'd be sick." Gabriella smiled as she continued. "Jason and Kelsi jumped up and down and Sharpay screamed for a couple of minutes, while Ryan tried not to faint."

"Wow." Troy said with a smile.

"Taylor said that she gave you your graduation gift." Gabriella said as she looked up at Troy.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. Thank you." Troy said with a smile as he moved to the same side of the counter as Gabriella was at and leaned against it.

"It was the least I could do." Gabriella said with a smile.

"The note was the best part." Troy said as he looked at Gabriella.

"The note. I forgot about the note." Gabriella answered with a nod. "It probably made the situation worse, you know since you got it when I was missing."

"It gave me hope, I guess, but yeah it made it a little worse, I'm not going to lie. Definitely when graduation came around." Troy answered.

"I can't believe I missed it." Gabriella replied quietly.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, it was extremely boring." Troy answered.

"It's not about that, Troy." Gabriella sighed as she stood up and faced him. "I missed the moment that I dreamed of since I was in middle school and I missed this defining moment that all of our friends went through without me, one that I should have been a part of. I was supposed to make a speech with Taylor and make my mom proud by walking across the stage and moving the tassel on my cap to the other side." Gabriella threw her hands up in disappointment. "What am I supposed to do now since I missed it? Am I supposed to start all over? I mean, what do I do? I don't even know how to get my diploma now. It's not like I can just pick it up at East High's office and if I could I wouldn't. I'm not going back there. I'm not going back." Gabriella was panicking now and was starting to get emotional. She was teary eyed as she looked at Troy and shook her head.

"You don't have to go back there." Troy said as he hugged her tightly.

"I can't." Gabriella said as tears started to fall from her eyes. "It was so scary." She added as Troy continued to hug her.

"Come on." Troy said as he took her hand and led her into the family room.

Gabriella sniffled as she sat down next to Troy on the couch and looked at him with her sad brown eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore… the guys that did this to you are locked up." Troy said sincerely as he looked her in the eye.

Gabriella sighed and looked like she was thinking as she looked back at Troy.

"They hurt me, Troy… I can't just forget about it." Gabriella said seriously.

Troy looked hurt for a minute, sad for Gabriella.

"What did they do?" Troy asked quietly, but seriously.

"At first they didn't do anything. They just put me in a dark basement and left me there. They didn't talk to me, they just made sure I was there… and one day I wasn't." Gabriella said as she looked down at her hands.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked in confusion.

"I was so close from getting out the day of graduation… but I knocked over something and gave away where I was. They found me and I got punished for it."

"What do you mean by that?" Troy asked worriedly.

"Let's just say I didn't make it down the stairs gracefully… that's how I got most of my bruises." Gabriella explained.

"Most?" Troy questioned.

"The tall guy kicked me a couple times… the guy that came in the closet we were in before they found us, threatened that he would shot me after I asked him why he was such a scum." Gabriella said as if it was okay to tell a kidnapper that he was scum.

"You called a guy that could have killed you scum?" Troy asked.

Gabriella raised her eyebrow at Troy.

"You wanted to know." Gabriella said quietly.

"You just need to know that you're safe… I'm always going to be here for you." Troy said as he looked into Gabriella's sad eyes.

"Thanks Troy." Gabriella said as she hugged Troy and he lightly hugged her back.

The next day after Gabriella spent some time with her mom, she looked at the clock and then outside where it was starting to get dark and new she should get to Troy's house so she wasn't late for their date. Her mom had a funny smile on her face as she waved goodbye to her daughter when Gabriella walked out the door.

She waited outside of the Bolton's house after she rang the door bell. Troy happily hurried to the door and greeted Gabriella.

"Hey Gabi." Troy said with a toothy smile.

"Hey." Gabriella said as she stepped into the house.

"Okay, I have a surprise for you." Troy said as he covered her eyes.

"Troy, you know I hate surprises." Gabriella smiled.

"You'll like this one." Troy said as he led her to the back yard. "Okay, ready?" Troy said as he stopped her where he wanted her to be standing, keeping his hand over her eyes.

"I think so." Gabriella said with a small nod.

Troy slowly uncovered Gabriella's eyes and she gasped softly.

"Oh my god, Troy!" Gabriella said in excitement.

**Review for the surprise!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22 **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, everyone! I hope you like this chapter! You'll find out what the surprise is… and maybe there's more than one. Enjoy! **

CHAPTER NINE

"Happy Graduation!" Everyone shouted when Troy removed his hands away from Gabriella's eyes.

Gabriella's mouth dropped in awe as she looked out into the backyard. There were white lights everywhere lighting up everything and there was a large banner that read _Congratulations Class of 2008!_ Taylor and Chad, Zeke and Sharpay, Jason and Kelsi, and Ryan and Martha were smiling happily and their parents, including Ms. Montez, were all excitedly talking amongst themselves by their seats. Mr. Matsui and Ms. Darbus were standing by the banner in excitement.

"Are you ready to graduate?" Taylor asked in excitement.

"Yeah!" Gabriella said with a nod.

"So are we!" Kelsi said excitedly.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked with a smile.

"Well, you can't graduate alone. So we're doing it again with you!" Sharpay explained.

"Yeah, it's going to be how it was before." Jason added.

"We even get to listen to Mr. Matsui's speech again." Martha said.

"I thought we were skipping that." Chad said with wide eyes.

"Of course not, silly." Sharpay said as she patted him on the shoulder.

"That was so boring!" Chad said.

"Dude, let it go." Zeke said with a nod.

"We should get started then." Ryan said with a smile.

"Ready?" Troy whispered to Gabriella when they sat down in their seats.

Gabriella smiled with a nod and took Troy's hand in hers as Mr. Matsui started his speech.

"It's nice to see all of you again. I thought I got rid of you, but I guess you can never be too sure." He started, getting a laugh from the parents and a few 'we'll be here forever's' from Chad and Zeke. "So as I said before…" Mr. Matsui started his speech and Chad slid down his chair in boredom. Troy smiled at Gabriella as she giggled softly and squeezed her hand lightly, listening to the speech this time, rather than missing it because he was worried about Gabriella. "Now we'll have Taylor talk to us for a while." Mr. Matsui said as he sat down in a chair next to Ms. Darbus and Taylor stood up and walked in front of the crowd.

"We've been through a lot, class of 2008." She started smiling at Gabriella as she said the speech she said on graduation, changing it up a little bit adding memories that were made within the group senior year. Like the time Zeke almost burnt down the life management room because he was distracted by Sharpay and Mr. Matsui almost killed him or when Jason aced his math test. Everyone laughed and remembered the same memories with sparkles in everyone's eyes and smiles clear on their face.

After Taylor said her speech Mr. Matsui started calling everyone up to receive their diplomas.

"Zeke Baylor."

"Troy Bolton."

"Yeah, Troy!" Gabriella hooted with a smile.

"Jason Cross."

"Martha Cox."

"Chad Danforth."

"Ryan Evans."

"Sharpay Evans."

Sharpay excitedly stood up and fanned her face as she started to tear up.

"This is the best day ever!" She said as everyone laughed.

"Kelsi Neilson."

"And last, but not least, Gabriella Montez." Mr. Matsui said with a smile.

"Yeah, Gabi!" Taylor and Sharpay said together as they stood up and clapped excitedly.

Gabriella laughed and hugged Troy before she walked over to Mr. Matsui. Everyone was clapping and the parents were crying in joy as they watched Gabriella receive her diploma. As everyone settled down and the ceremony ended, the parents started to take pictures of everyone together and then they left, leaving the kids to talk amongst their selves and enjoying being back together again.

As the group sat on the patio chairs on Troy's deck, Troy looked at Chad and Chad nodded secretly. Troy stood up and looked at Gabriella.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"I'd love to." Gabriella said with a smile as she took Troy's hand and headed to the back gate.

When the group watched them disappear through the gate, Taylor instantly looked at Chad.

"What's going on?" She asked in a sing song voice.

"Nothing…" Chad said.

"Yeah, nothing's going on." Zeke said.

"Yeah Troy isn't giving Gabriella a necklace or anything." Jason said.

"Dude!" Zeke and Chad said together.

"Awe… that's so cute… why don't I get a necklace." Taylor said to Chad.

"Because you don't like necklaces." Chad said with a smirk.

"It's the thought that counts." Taylor mumbled.

"I know, that's why I got you a bracelet." Chad said as he dangled a sparkling bracelet in front of her.

Taylor smiled and hugged Chad excitedly.

Sharpay eyed Zeke.

"Earrings right." Zeke said as he handed Sharpay a box with pink studs in it.

"Oh my gosh! I got you a blender but I couldn't bring it here." Sharpay said as she hugged him and Zeke gasped as he hugged her tighter.

Kelsi looked at Jason, not expecting anything. Jason pulled out a medium sized box from under his chair, opening it, reveling a purple hat and placed it gently on her head.

"Aw, you shouldn't have…" Kelsi said as she gave Jason a peek on the check.

Ryan looked at Martha awkwardly.

"Don't worry we're just friends… I'll take a hug though." Martha said with a laugh.

"I can do that." Ryan said giving her a hug.

Troy and Gabriella were walking down the street, enjoying the stars in the dark sky and each other's company.

"I hope you liked the surprise." Troy said as he walked next to Gabriella, hand in hand.

"I did… thank you so much, it meant a lot." Gabriella said as she smiled at Troy.

"Oh, and before I forget, I need to give you your graduation gift." Troy said as he rummaged through his pocket.

"You don't need to give me anything you've given me enough." Gabriella said.

"Well, I'm giving you more." Troy said with a smile.

Troy pulled out a necklace from his pocket, and slowly swayed the diamond necklace in front of her. Gabriella's eyes widened as she pointed at the necklace, making Troy laugh at her loss of words.

"Troy, I can't take this… its diamonds." Gabriella whispered the word diamonds.

"I know… and you gave me Lakers' tickets." Troy said with a smile.

"Oh my god, Troy, I don't even know what to wear with that." Gabriella said in disbelief.

"Sharpay can help you with that." Troy said stopping her next statement as he kissed her.

They shared a passionate kiss, deepening it as they wrapped their arms around each other and smiled before pulling away. Troy put the necklace on Gabriella, and she looked down at it, smiling happily.

"Oh my god." Gabriella whispered as she kissed him once more and headed to the backyard once again.

Everyone went home after a while of celebrating, leaving with their partner and diplomas.

Later in the week, the first day of summer when everyone was actually relaxed and not worried about anything, the group of friends were standing in Troy's kitchen, smiling happily as they held their college envelopes.

"Here we come, University of Albuquerque." Chad said as he pumped his fist in the air.

"Well, let's hope you got in." Taylor said sarcastically, hoping that she'd be going to the University of Albuquerque too.

"Okay, on the count of three we'll open the letters together." Gabriella said.

"One." Troy said slowly.

"Two!" Sharpay sang.

"Three." Everyone said together as they ripped their envelopes open and excitedly removed the letter, reading them quietly.

"Yes! I got in!" Chad said excitedly.

Taylor looked up from her letter and gave Gabriella a worried look, who gave her the same one back.

"Me too!" Sharpay and Ryan said together excitedly.

"We all did!" Martha said excitedly.

"Yes!" Jason shouted as he twirled Kelsi around as he hugged her.

"This is so exciting!" Chad said as he looked at Gabriella and Taylor. "Wait, why aren't you excited?" He asked as he saw their frowns.

"We're not going to the University." Taylor said as she looked at Gabriella's paper and then at her own.

"Funny, Taylor, let me see your paper." Chad said with a laugh as he took her paper and Gabriella's then slowly looked at them. "You got accepted to Yale!" Chad shouted.

"What?!" The group shouted back.

"You didn't even apply to that school!" Sharpay said angrily.

"Umm…" Taylor started. "We kind of did in eleventh grade." She answered.

"What?!" They shouted again.

"We didn't think we'd make it." Gabriella explained.

"Well, of course you'd make it! You're you!" Jason answered.

"What are you going to do?" Zeke asked.

Gabriella looked up from her letter and over to Troy, where he stood with a worried look on his face. Gabriella touched her necklace on her neck and looked at Taylor who had tears in her eyes.

"We're going to Yale." Gabriella said quietly as she looked at the group of shocked and hurt friends.

See what happens to this group of friends in Taken Away 2: Moving Away; coming soon to computers near you. What will happen to the relationships? Who's not staying friends and what will happen during their five year high school reunion?

**Gasp! What did I do? I guess you'll have to wait to see! Review if you want the sequel!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


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